DarkShock

Rick, I know that your goal is to have Paint.NET 4.0 released by late 2013 or early 2014. How well is that release window looking? I'm just eager for it to finally release. I appreciate all the hard work.

Your 3D work looks awesome. I'd like to see more.

HELEN....I think it's time for an update.

@chimay: Don't stress. You're not being a bad host at all. It's just an issue that came up and is going out of control. I actually respect the fact that you wanted the opinions of the community before making any changes to the rules. @Sasha: Please continue to enter future SOTW competitions. Don't let this issue take you away from that. Competition is a great way to bring out the best in everyone. Can we all agree to end this tension over the SOTW rules? The issue seems to be resolved. I think we can all move on now and keep this competition fun. Just follow the rules. It's simple.

That's basically what I said. The only actual issue was providing links to stocks.

I'll have to agree with nitenurse. Rule 6 and 3 are fine as is. The revision you made to rule #5 is what needed to happen. Now people will know that links to sources aren't optional.

If I were to host SOTW, I would make the rule #5 slightly different. Not only must you state that stocks were used, you must provide a link for every stock that was used. It's almost like writing an essay (but much simpler, obviously). You have to list your resources at the end and then go into detail. You don't just put a notice at the end stating that you obtained information from an outside source and end it at that. Hopefully this isn't too harsh of a rule. I don't think the SOTW competition has any issues with people using programs other than PdN to make their entries. Everyone seems to be honest when it comes to that rule. I just think rule #5 should be enforced a little bit more. It currently says links to sources would be courteous, but I think it should be mandatory. Once again, sorry if that seem a little harsh.

Yes.

And I admire that, too. Everyone has their own style and discipline. It's what keep us unique. I've even tried different techniques to make my sigs more "100% Paint.NET" My current sig is actually 100% Paint.NET if you don't count the render.

Yes. And now I'm a bit concerned.

The way I see it: A copy and paste job and taking all the credit is wrong in so many ways. Taking bits and pieces of work from other artists and making something new is completely fine. That's the beauty of digital art and image editing software. People do it all the time using Photoshop. Doing it with Paint.NET is no different, a matter of fact, it's actually harder to pull off!

And I appreciate you using it. I'm just surprised you've been using it for a while now.

Haha! Thanks for the comments guys. welshblue, I have to be honest. I'm surprised you're still using that sig I made you.

As an artist that works with a ton of renders/stocks, I feel like I should jump in this conversation about using pre-made art. First off, I'm not going to side with any specific person on this subject, I'm just adding my opinion. Unless SOTW turned into a competition where all work must be 100% Paint.NET, than using stocks should be permitted, allowed, welcomed, etc. Sure you're using someone else work, but as long as you follow rule#5 than everything should be fair game. Give credit where credit is due. He didn't assemble all the components and used them to make one image using Photoshop. He used Paint.NET. So with all due respect, he's still abiding by rule #6. And on a positive note, all of the entries this week look awesome. I was particularly amazed by HELEN's entry. Great job everyone.

November 13th Update Yes welshblue...another pink sig.

Hey! Don't come back and surprise us and leave again! I've got my eye on you, Sharp! O.o

Great use of solid color. Does that image somehow represent the mood you were in when you made it?

Thanks for the feedback everyone. @chimay: I guess I could have done a bit more to add depth to that one. I should have added some more effects over the render. And about the hair, i think the mix of blending modes I used caused the sharpened edges.

Excellent work! Do you happen to play the video game Mass Effect? The image you made reminds me of it.

Great job on both pieces. The second one is awesome. Good contrast.

The first one if my favorite, too. Same reasons as HELEN. Good work.

Great job on your last two pieces Sasha. The spiral image you made looks awesome. And almost hypnotized me >_>

Its...its....alive! Welcome back Sharp. And now that we have you back...don't leave again >.<

That plugin pack was last updated in January 2012, but that is still very recent. It was most likely updated to be compatible with Paint.NET 3.5 (current version). Just do what the guys before me said. Delete all of the plugins you downloaded from that other site and start getting your plugins from here.

If the size of your cut-outs are small then you will have to consider sizing down your overall image a lot. I recommend finding larger cut-outs if possible.